Opinions Needed: Ebay Seated Liberty Buying Strategy

If you are talking an ebay link, those should be fine. Posting a link to a store you own, not fine (just an example).

I can't tell whether you are looking for information, a pat on the back, or what... It seems like you are trying to cherrypick from ebay.

I'm assuming you want to avoid buying from knowledgeable dealers and organizations like the Liberty Seated Coin Club and the dealers who advertise in the magazine and website? Since they won't be underpricing?

In terms of establishing the market price (so you have a definition of undervalued), there are several resources.

The bluesheet and greysheet. The bluesheet lists prices for sight unseen transactions between dealers, in other words the minimum you should be able to sell the item for. The greysheet lists prices for sight seen transactions between dealers (and at auction) and represents what you should be able to buy for - anything above greysheet is basically the retail markup. Although they are not inexpensive, you can buy single copies or a subscription.

NGC and PCGS both have price guides (take them with a huge grain of salt).

The NGC page lists recent auction sales, here. You can hide details coins via the checkbox and that will give you auction pricing over the years.

PCGS's page (here) has a "shop" link that searches ebay (not terribly well).

MikeF,

I don't actually know why your thread was deleted, and there may be reasons I am not seeing.

The counterfeit sections are for reporting counterfeits, not asking if they are real or having a discussion about them. Discussions are for other sections.

My opinion about your strategy would be this: If you're just flipping coins then whatever makes you money is a good strategy. More research into the series by Year MM and grade may give you opportunity to have larger return though.
If you are looking to build a collection then your strategy is great if that is how you want to approach it. Everyone on here will have a different opinion about the best way to approach building a collection. And at the same time everyone will tell you there is no wrong way to collect as long as you are happy with the coins you are collecting. And that is a nice group to start your build with.

The $1,293 was a sale by heritage auctions. Am I correct in my understanding that the 15% buyers premium is NOT included in the sale price?

*** Edited by Staff to add quote tags. Please use them in the future. Posts are very difficult to read without them.***

Heritage's 17.5% Buyer's Premium IS included in the sale price.

Well then, looks like my next purchase will be from heritage auctions. OUCH!

Finding good deals on ebay is possible, but you should know what your
doing ....should do your research.

Jumping into the hobby and buying higher priced coins means there is
a good chance you will not get good deals.

Buying coins as a investment is very hard to do. You have to know
what the coins your buying will sell for, and find a system that will
let you buy as close to that price ..or less. Some dealers have trouble
doing that consistently.

Greysheet on a 1845 Seated dollar AU50 is $1275. A dealer would pay
a customer less than Greysheet, maybe in the $900 range.

Plus .. price guides ... are only guides. As others have posted you should
check sold auction listings, to find the range you should be at.

Coin collecting should be ..because you love coins. Yes you should learn
how to purchase coins at good prices. Most collectors hope that if and
when their coins get sold, it is at a profit or at least get what they paid for them. Many times when someone inherits a collection they take it to a coin
shop and take what ever is offered. Unless the coins were bought at a good
prices and/or held for a long time ... the offer a coin shop will make is much
less than was paid.